TDK Semiconductor Files Infringement Suit against Silicon Laboratories

TDK Semiconductor Corp. (Tustin, CA) filed a federal lawsuit yesterday in the US District Court, Central District of California, against Silicon Laboratories (Austin, TX) for infringement of US Patent No. 5,654,984, "Signal Modulation Across Capacitors." TDK Semiconductor is seeking an injunction and damages for Silicon Labs' infringement of this patent.

The TDK Semiconductor suit charges that the Silicon Labs' devices infringe on TDK Semiconductor's patent rights. Among the infringing devices are the Silicon Labs' Si3035 and Si3044 chipset. Gerald Fitch, CFO for TDK Semiconductor, stated, "Based on an extensive evaluation, we have determined that Silicon Labs is in violation of a patent that protects our intellectual property rights. As such, we intend on vigorously enforcing our legal rights in regard to these innovations, in addition to seeking damages and an injunction to cease Silicon Labs' use of these devices."